Rev. Tashi, a Tibetan monk from Bradenton, chanting in an unbelievable way!

Clear Water Zen Center Group: Our family friend
Ching on left and her husband Ron on right.

Chanting in praise of Amitabha by Amitabha Buddhist Group

Bathing of the Buddha ceremony

Everyone participating in
Bathing of the Buddha

A Wonderful Vegetarian Dinner

(photos by Tom Lacey and Say Chong Lee)

From Say Chong Lee's Blog....

May 26, 2007 is an august day for Buddhists, both practitioners and
novices alike, from the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete area for they were able
to partake of the Vesak Celebration organized/hosted by the
Dhammawheel Meditation Center (DWMC)/the
Unitarian Universalists (UU) of Clearwater, the 7th in the annual
series. For the very first time, the Amitabha Buddhist Group (ABG), of
which my wife, Bee Khoon, is a member, was invited to present a condensed
version of Chanting in praise of Amitabha.
The Middle Way Buddhist Association, among others, assisted in
organizing the event.

The performing members of the ABG first gathered
in our home to refine the synchronization required for a well-orchestrated
display of the chanting, complete with Buddhist sound accompaniment. Thus
rehearsed, the group left for the venue at 4pm in our Minivan, and
dutifully arrived at the destination with enough time for “site
reconnaissance” and setting up seating position.

The venue is the premises of UU, a building with an octagonal timber roof
and circular seating arrangements. The road entrance was adorned with
Buddhist flags and lanterns, fluttering in the strong breeze. A white
Buddha statue sat at the middle of the hall, with a banner proclaiming
Paying Homage to Buddha By Serving
Humanity hung further back. Two baby Buddhas were emplaced to the
side, which are meant for bathing of the Buddha ceremony.

The celebration commenced with the procession, led by the various
Buddhist monks and nuns flanked by two Dharma wheel bearers and accompanied
by a team of four drummers, making rhythmic, deep percussion beats. The
march started from the premises of the
Dhammawheel Meditation Center (DWMC) just across the road (Nursery),
with Buddhist practitioners/attendees bringing up the rear.

While the attendees were filing into the hall and gradually filling up the
available seats that slope upward and outward, the drum group continued
its pulsating beats, alternating rising to a crescendo and subsiding, the
acoustics seemingly enhanced by the high roof that extends downward in all
directions.

Rev. Abhi Janamanchi first welcomed all attendees to the celebration of
the birth, enlightenment, and nirvana of the Buddha, noting that serving
humanity as appeared on the overhead banner is to be construed as
including all sentient beings. Seeing all the greed, anger, wars and
destruction that have been engulfing humanity and environment, the Buddha
would have pained; but at the same time the Buddha also would have had his
work cut out for him, the Reverend added.

Bhante Dhammawansha then led in the veneration of the Buddha by chanting
the homage to the Three Jewels: The Buddha, The Dharma, and the Sangha,
first in Pali, then in English, emphasizing the need to practice well,
rightly, correctly, and properly.

After an exquisitely executed classical Indian dance performed by Ms.
Aishwarya Challa, Rev. Tashi, a Tibetan monk who has just moved to
Bradenton about two months ago, delivered a heart-palpitating rendition of
the Heart Sutra, in Sanskrit. The Heart Sutra encapsulates the essence of
emptiness, and is at the heart of the Four Noble Seals in the tradition of
Tibetan Buddhism.

This was followed by Chanting of the
Heart Sutra by the Clearwater Zen Center, in English, to the
accompaniment of chiming sounds made by striking an urn and the thudding
sound of hitting the wooden fish. Recognizing the interchangeability
between form and emptiness, the constant waxing and waning, arising and
disappearing of all things, the Heart Sutra enjoins:

After a brief meditation session led by Bhante during which he
admonished all to have happy and loving thoughts, the ABG took to the
floor to demonstrate Chanting in praise
of Amitabha, which is another name for the Buddha, meaning
Infinite Light and
Infinite Life.

In the words of Brother Brian, who preceded the group chanting with a
brief expose of the practice, which he assembled from a host of online
sources [texts in parentheses are mine]:

“In
Sanskrit, he is Amitabha Buddha. In Chinese, he is known as Amituofo [some
versions appear as Amitofo]… With his deeds, he creates the
conditions for beings to accumulate merits. With his purity, he has
created a perfect land: one that has no pollutants, no anger or
intolerance. It is a land of peace and serenity. It is a world of equality
and joy, wonder and beauty. In comparison, our [mundane,
in the words of Bhante] world is one of delusion and suffering,
filled with worry and anxiety. [This
Western Pure Land, as it is called, is the somewhat analogous Heaven in
western religions.]… When we chant,
the sound of Amituofo arises in our minds. And as we utter “Amituofo”, our
minds focus on and embrace the sound. While chanting, we do so
whole-heartedly and continuously.… When, in our
chanting, we reach the level of single-mindedness with the sole thought of
Amituofo, we form a connection with him. In that moment we are in his
land. As we breathe our last breadth in this world, we can form this
connection. With Amituofo, we will attain our next rebirth in the Western
Pure Land, and leave all our suffering behind.”

With that preamble, the whole hall then settled into silence, broken only
by the repeated chanting of “Amituofo”, in rhythm with the sounding of the
Buddhist acoustic paraphernalia. It was as if a drape of serenity had
descended on the hall, shrouding the attendees in a peaceful mood.

In the ensuing dharma talk by Bhante, he likened our existence in this
mundane world to a lotus pond of dirty, muddy waters. But we should
emulate the lotus flowers that spring forth, unattached to the mud that
abounds in the environment. And we do this by cultivating our minds in
consonance with the Four Noble Truths. Bhante also advised that we should
think twice, and do not rush headlong into Buddhism. It’s an individual
decision, and no conversion is necessary.

The dharma talk was in turn followed by another dance performance by Ms.
Aishwarya Challa, Love Offering to
a drumming based on a Swahili song by Steve Turner,
Blessing for World Peace, and
Giving of Gifts to the Sangha.

The culmination of the Vesak Celebration is the
bathing of the Buddha, with
benediction from Dr. Frank Tedesco, who intoned that we are fundamentally
enlightened. So by purifying ourselves through the Bathing of the baby
Buddha, we are borne anew. The attendees then took turn, in pairs, to
participate in the penultimate activity of the blessed program of Vesak
Celebration, after which they migrated to the Social Hall for a sumptuous
feast of the vegetarian dinner.